Engineer Ilya Espino de Marotta assumed office as Administrator of the Panama Canal on September 7, 2026, becoming the first woman to hold this position. She was appointed by the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Authority on May 21, 2026, for the 2026–2033 term. Previously, she served as Deputy Administrator beginning January 1, 2020, also becoming the first woman to hold that position.
Espino de Marotta began her career at the Canal in 1985 as the only marine engineer at the shipyard of the then Industrial Division. Throughout more than 40 years with the organization, she has held positions of increasing responsibility in technical, operational, and leadership areas. She served as Vice President for Transit Business and as Executive Vice President for Engineering, where she played a key role in the execution of the Panama Canal Expansion Program.
In January 2024, she was also appointed the Panama Canal’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, a role from which she has led the development of a comprehensive sustainability strategy focused on decarbonization, climate change adaptation, and the integration of sustainability criteria into the organization’s strategy and operations.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in Engineering Management from Universidad Santa María La Antigua in Panama. She also completed executive development programs at INCAE Business School and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and holds a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.
